Bana cathedral
Bana (Georgian: ბანა; Armenian: Բանակ, romanized: Banak; Turkish: Penek Kilisesi) is a ruined early medieval cathedral in present-day Erzurum Province, eastern Turkey, in what had formerly been a historical marchland known to Armenians as Tayk and to Georgians as Tao.
| Bana | |
|---|---|
The ruins of the cathedral in 2007 | |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Location | |
| Location | Şenkaya, Erzurum Province, Turkey |
Shown within Turkey | |
| Geographic coordinates | 40.668061°N 42.269961°E |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Kvirik from Bana (during the rule of Adarnase II of Tao-Klarjeti) |
| Type | Monastery, church |
| Style | Armenian, Georgian |
| Completed | c. 653–658, rebuilt c. 881–923 |
| Height (max) | 37.45m |
It is a large tetraconch design, surrounded by a near-rotunda polygonal ambulatory and marked with a cylindrical drum. Generally believed to have been constructed in the 7th century, based on an 11th-century chronicle it was reconstructed by Adarnase IV of Iberia at some point between 881 and 923. Henceforth, it was used as a royal cathedral by the Bagrationi dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of the area in the 16th century. The former cathedral was converted into a fortress by the Ottoman army during the Crimean War. The monastery was almost completely ruined during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877–78.